The Human Relations Commission Years

In 2000, Rosales became the Vice Chair of the Human Relations Commission, a committee designed to examine race relations in the City of Champaign.

 

Rosales said that it is sometimes uncomfortable for people to talk about racial climate issues. The subject can stir emotions that often people wish to suppress, more so because they have never been bound to diverse neighborhoods, social circles or communities. Unfortunately, an effective means to control such subject matter from being discussed is for someone to label the delivery as "playing the race card".

 

When someone claims another is "playing the race card" the term becomes a tactical ploy to implement reductive dialogue. The purpose of accusing others of "playing the race card" is to marginalize the debate and therefore tossing such a term into the discussion triggers an immediate "shut down" of those who are intently following said dialogue as either spectators or active listeners. To introduce the accusation that one is "playing the race card" is not helpful to the national, or local, discourse simply because we cannot get past race problems, without addressing there is a problem.

 

"I found a great number in the community believe if the subject of race is not addressed in open dialogue, it will simply disappear. The results of this pattern of practice has escalated tensions inside of Unit## 4 schools post-Consent Decree, forced UIUC to hold a recent forum called STOP, and a growing mistrust of City and County Officials who are believed to employ profiling as a means to monitor behavior. Whether real or imagined our community must embrace these concerns and make those who feel alienated, for any reason, come to feel they are valued stakeholders in our city."

 

Rosales would like to see the reemergence of Study Circles. The Human Relation's Commission formed Study Circles to engage dialogue among a wide variety of community people from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, a 'politically correct' free environment. The objective was to have these community members go back into their environments and take the learning experience from the sessions and educate the people from within their own social circles. The belief was, positive racial climate can be achieved, even if by only one person at a time.